The Washington critic., 1887-06-30
A pECuIIAR CITY.

each some Characteristic feature-a
particular industry or branch OF trade,
or pronounced peculiarity which has
stimulated its growth, and which, 10
fact, explains and jus,itics the oi,y's
existence
Such an encyclopedia reference
would In all probability dismiss Wash.
ington with the explanation that Its do.
velopment was due 10 its selection as
the seat of government.
The fact rarely commands attention
that Washington owes It's activities AMI
prosperity. its celebrity and progress,
10 features no less unique and charac.
terlstlc than may bo claimed by New
York, Chicago or Leadville.
The city Of Washington has CON.
merclal phases as peculiarly It's own as
those of New York--industries as In
dividual and distinct as ,l.c fisheries OF
one region or the mining Of another.
The COMMERCE of Washington Is the
movement OF men, so to speak. lis
prosperity varies, not so much with the
fluctuations of prices or stocks, but
with the varying inpour of visitors
and accommodation of soiourners on
pleasure, politics, or public business
bent. The comings and goings and
doings of people more or less distin-
guished In their respective localities,
and cosmopolitan as class, are as es-
sentially the life of Washington as the
state of the crops or trade is Of st.
Louis, New Orleans or Boston.
The parallel can be applied in every
direction. Any public event, no mat
ter how great its intrinsic Importance,
possesses an additional interest In
Washington from personal view. A
Presidential election is important to
New York in proportion as 1t may af.
feet the money market, and In Chicago
as II may influence wheat; but Its In.
terest and importance in Washington
lie rather in the question as to what
new men 1t is to bring in and what peo.
pie It is to take away-what depletions,
what accessions society is 10 undergo.
So with the Congressional contests.
SO with almost every conceivable mat.
ter of public concern. In the current
question of the selection of Supre me
Judge, one city is interested to know
how the appointee will view great pend
ing land questions, or railroad, or In
dian, or financial issues, or the revenue
law, while Washington asks mainly as
TO the prospect of another fine resi-
dence and another open recepiion.room.
The history of New York is to be
read In the financial columns Of Its
newspapers; of Chicago in the crop re
poris; of Washington in the personal
department.
THE jury in the case Of Jacob Sharp
apparently had little difficulty in reach.
ing verdict They were out only
thirteen minutes, and, in that brief
space of time, found the old man
guilty, coupling their verdict with a
recommendation to mercy.
The evidence that the money used
In securing the votes Of certain New
York Aldermen came through Sharp
was mainly circumstantIal, and, to the
general reader, not entirely conclusive.
The proceedings OF the trial fail to
show, with anything like mathematical
clearness, that the defendant sought,
by criminally corrupt means, to defeat
the public interests for the promotion
Of his own. He may have done so,
but, unless we are greatly mistaken In
our observation of legislative proceed
ings, quite as flagrant deeds are not
uncommon and pass without much
comment.
The truth OF the matter Is that
things had come to n pretty loose pass
in the New York Board of Aldermen,
and an example was necessary TO ease
the public mind. 1t was foreordained
that Sharp must go, and In the present
temper of the public mind the jury
could hardly have brought In any other
verdict than they did, or even re.
malued out any greater length of time.
for fear of being themselves charge
with mercenaTy or otherwise improper
motives In the cuse. They took con.
siderable risk In recommending 'Sharc
10 mercy, but the prisoners manifest
infrmiries and u lingering doubt as tc
the Nervousness Of his crime had pos
sib!e weight.
II is the first time, said Judge Bar
Iett In his summing up, that a man hat
been held to answer for giving brlbr
1t has always been the bribs taker wht
has had to suffer and he disgraced; yet
II one thing Is shown more clearly thar
another in this business, il is that tn,
Aldermen were 10 the market, oper
solicitors for Inducements. They wert
primarily responsible. They had vote'
10 sell, and cared nothing as TO who wa!
the buyer. So II is well the combine
is brokfn up, even though the author
flies had to resort to questionable mesn'
and The press 10 policy of terrorlza
iion In order to do It,
A TELEGRAM in yesterdays CRITIC
from Augusta, Ga, states that one
Major Graves, having failed to get an
apology from one Colonel Barrett for
alleged libel, published card de-
nouncing Barrett as "a poltroon and
vili1er, and one who refuses to give the
satisfaction due from one gentleman to
another" The presumption Is that
the Major challenged the Colonel to
mortal combat In accordance with the
code, and that the Colonel discreetly